Abstract Small-scale agriculture is an important livelihood in sub-Saharan Africa. In the face of land degradation, identifying the constraints to smallholder farmers in improving soil quality is important to inform institutional interventions. While previous policies and studies have concentrated on structural land management practices, less attention has been paid to farmers’ choice of land management strategies. This study examines the socio-economic, institutional, and agro-ecological factors that influence smallholder farmers’ land management practices, based on a case study of the Wanka watershed in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Household survey questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were used to gather data, which were analysed using descriptive statistics and a multinomial logit model. The study revealed that socio-economic factors (number of livestock, household size, plot size, farming experience, off-farm income) had a significant impact on mixed cropping and crop rotation, and the use of chemical fertiliser. Institutional factors (access to credit and extension services) strongly influenced farmers’ use of chemical/organic fertiliser and practice of mixed cropping, especially among younger farmers. Agro-ecological differences were also significant, the application of chemical fertiliser alone has decreased, but its practice in combination with crop rotation and drainage ditches increased, at lower elevations. The study concludes that the specific socio-economic circumstances of farmers, agro-ecological conditions of land, and institutional factors, need to be considered in the development of measures and policies that aim to encourage farmers to adopt additional land management practices to enhance sustainable agricultural production.

中文翻译：

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埃塞俄比亚西北部高地 Wanka 流域小农农业土地管理实践的决定因素I

摘要 小规模农业是撒哈拉以南非洲的重要生计。面对土地退化，确定小农在改善土壤质量方面的制约因素对于为机构干预提供信息非常重要。虽然以前的政策和研究集中在结构性土地管理实践上，但很少关注农民对土地管理策略的选择。本研究以埃塞俄比亚西北部高地万卡流域的案例研究为基础，研究了影响小农土地管理实践的社会经济、制度和农业生态因素。使用家庭调查问卷、关键知情人访谈和焦点小组讨论来收集数据，并使用描述性统计和多项 logit 模型进行分析。研究表明，社会经济因素（牲畜数量、家庭规模、地块大小、耕作经验、非农收入）对混合种植和轮作以及化肥的使用有显着影响。制度因素（获得信贷和推广服务）强烈影响农民使用化学/有机肥料和混合种植的做法，尤其是在年轻农民中。农业生态差异也很显着，在低海拔地区，单独施用化肥减少了，但结合轮作和排水沟的做法增加了。研究得出的结论是，农民的具体社会经济情况、土地的农业生态条件和制度因素，